edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
- 1Try
- 2Learn
- 3Practise
- 4Check
“Vosotros” or “ustedes”: two systems, both rightRecognising and producing both plural-you systems: “vosotros” with its own verb forms…“He comido” or “comí”: today's pastChoosing the tense for something finished but still inside today, this week or this…“Me levanto”: verbs with a pronoun attachedUsing reflexive verbs for daily routine, and the pairs where adding the pronoun changes…“Muy” or “mucho”Using “muy” in front of adjectives and adverbs, and “mucho” with verbs and nouns…“Nadar es sano”: where English says “-ing” and Spanish does notUsing the infinitive where English uses “-ing”: as a subject (“nadar es sano”), after a…“Llevo dos años aquí”: how long you have been doing itSaying how long something has been going on: “vivo aquí desde hace dos años”, “llevo dos…
Another oneKeep practising: SpanishThe rule, in three lines
Use hora for a clock time, tiempo for available duration, and vez or veces for occasions. English “time” covers all three.
The usual slip. Translating every use of “time” with tiempo loses the difference between a clock reading, duration and an occasion.
Why it catches you out. English “time” can ask for a clock reading, refer to available duration, or count an occasion. Spanish uses three different nouns, so the surrounding context must decide which meaning is intended.
Continue along this corridor
- “Vosotros” or “ustedes”: two systems, both rightRecognising and producing both plural-you systems: “vosotros” with its own verb forms…
- “He comido” or “comí”: today's pastChoosing the tense for something finished but still inside today, this week or this…
- “Me levanto”: verbs with a pronoun attachedUsing reflexive verbs for daily routine, and the pairs where adding the pronoun changes…